The present invention relates generally to a frame for an infant swing and, more particularly, to a hanger mount structure that provides convenient utilization while ensuring that the electric motor is operable to transmit torque to the hanger members to affect reciprocal movement thereof.
Baby swings are used extensively by infant caregivers to soothe and to comfort the children. An infant swing consists primarily of a seat that securely holds the infant in a position elevated off the floor and a frame apparatus that supports the seat and allows the seat to move in a reciprocal manner, typically in a forward and rearward direction though some infant seats provide a side to side swinging motion.
The first infant swings consisted of a seat suspended from a frame that was formed with a support structure that extended over top of the infant and was supported by transversely opposed support legs that hold the overhead support structure in the elevated position. This overhead support structure restricted access to the child positioned in the seat as the support structure presented a physical barrier directly above the child. Such an infant swing can be seen in U.S. Design Patent No. D345,777, issued on Apr. 4, 1994, to Daniel Pinch, et al. Not only is the overhead support structure a barrier to accessing the child in the swing from above the child, but the support structure also presented a barrier to viewing the infant.
As a solution to the barrier presented by the overhead support structure, the “open top” infant swing was developed. As can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,033, issued to Louis Kohus and James Mariol on Apr. 18, 1989, the overhead structural support has been eliminated to provide an open access to the child in the seat from above. However, the child can be capable of grasping either of the transversely opposing support legs, particularly as the child is swinging back and forth between the support legs. Contact between the swinging child and one of the support legs can result in injury to the child. Furthermore, the child can potentially grab one of the support legs and pull his or herself forwardly to become dislodged from the seat, particularly if the child has not been properly secured within the seat by a safety harness.
The aforementioned open top infant swing evolved in a manner to eliminate the frame structure, i.e. the support legs, positioned forwardly of the swinging seat to provide an “open side” swing frame configuration for an infant swing. Such an open side infant swing can be found in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,033, issued to Kohus and Mariol on Apr. 18, 1989. In the Kohus and Mariol patent, the infant swing is provided with both an open top and an open side structural configuration to provide the capability of viewing and accessing the child within the seat from substantially any position forwardly of the seat.
The swinging motion of most baby swings commercially available is similar to that of a pendulum that pivots from above and to the sides of the seat. Although this swinging motion can be maintained by a mechanical spring-operated swing mechanism, the swinging motion in most modern infant swings is maintained, typically, by a small electric motor located adjacent one of the seat pivots supported by the frame structure. The power for this electric motor is typically an array of dry cell batteries located within the same plastic housing as the electric motor. Examples of battery operated motors to affect the swinging motion of the infant seat from a frame support can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,525,113, issued to Daniel Mitchell, et al on Jun. 11, 1996, and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,545, issued to Daniel Pinch, et al on Nov. 10, 1998.
Most current commercial infant swings utilize an assembly that involves inserting a hanger tube into a receptacle, which is incorporated as an integral part of the pivot member for the swing. A mechanical fastener, such as a screw, bolt and nut, or spring-loaded button, is then used to retain the hanger tube in the receptacle. Such an attachment apparatus requires that the consumer verify that the fasteners are correctly installed during assembly, which is often difficult due to strategic alignment of holes in the hanger tube with corresponding holes in the receptacle. Proper installation of such attachment devices is essential as the swing seat can come loose from the pivot member and fall. Disassembly of the swing seat from the frame assembly can also present a burdensome operation as these fasteners must be removed and stored so that the fasteners can be reused later when the swing is re-assembled.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a mounting apparatus for the seat assembly of a child swing that can provide an intuitive and effective operation in assembly and disassembly of the swing.